Look Who's Back!?!? And She Has A Cricut...

It has been many years since I posted here - age and illness robbed me of deft fingers and good eyesight. I am in my 50's now, with ailing health... and have noticed that I seem to be not the only miniaturists who has deserted the blogosphere and disappeared with barely a trace.

Is miniature-making not a popular hobby any longer?

Are people falling out of love with dolls houses?

Or are many of them, like me, just getting too old and infirm?

Oh, I hope not!

I never really gave up miniature making - though I certainly couldn't turn my hand to 1:24th scale now - and not much possibility of me making clay figures either. I have had a dolls house since posting last - but it ended up being unfinished, unloved... and then broken and dumped.

I still have the gypsy caravan model my husband bought me - still not put together, still in bits...

and now I have another dolls house - a child's one that I picked up for just £19.

This new- found interest in miniature has happened for two reasons...

Firstly, I play a Hidden Object Game (HOG) based upon Agatha Christie's book "The 4.50 From Paddington". I LOVE Agatha Christie books, plays, television series, films... whether its Miss Marple, Poirot,Tommy and Tuppence, Harley Quin or any other character and tale she's magically woven. Anyway... in this HOG there is Miss Marple's living room... and I wanted to recreate it as a room box. I have no idea why this idea planted itself into my head and refused to go away... but it took root and grew and grew. I haven't the room box - but have much of what I need to fill it now. Mostly hand-crafted from scratch, or up-cycled from broken or damaged 1:12th miniatures, I have about 90% of the items I need.

Here's the room I want to recreate:

It won't be exact - but my interpretation of it.

And the second reason? Hubby bought me a Cricut Maker... and although I don't really have a clue how to use it properly, it is allowing me to be able to cut shapes and be accurate - which helps a lot in miniature making :)

Here's a quick snap-shot of some of the items I've made:

Not the grandfather clock - that's an up-cycled project. But the stole, chairs, globes, table, jug, water canteen, basket and contents, hatbox (opening), suitcase (opening), lemon tree and pot, fan, umbrella, radio.... they are all my own creations - from scratch.
Now, I'm not promising regular updates, or a finished dolls house any time soon... but what I can say is that I will be making a few things and trying my best to upload my efforts.